Passive exposure to agricultural pesticides and risk of childhood leukemia in an Italian community

Exposure to pesticides has been suggested as a risk factor for childhood leukemia, but definitive evidence on this relation and the specific pesticides involved is still not clear. We carried out a population-based case-control study in a Northern Italy community to assess the possible relation betw...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of hygiene and environmental health 2016-11, Vol.219 (8), p.742-748
Main Authors: Malagoli, Carlotta, Costanzini, Sofia, Heck, Julia E., Malavolti, Marcella, De Girolamo, Gianfranco, Oleari, Paola, Palazzi, Giovanni, Teggi, Sergio, Vinceti, Marco
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Agriculture
Case-Control Studies
Child
Child, Preschool
Childhood leukemia
Crop density
Environmental Exposure
Female
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Italy - epidemiology
Leukemia - epidemiology
Male
Odds Ratio
Pesticides
Risk Factors
Rural area
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Summary:Exposure to pesticides has been suggested as a risk factor for childhood leukemia, but definitive evidence on this relation and the specific pesticides involved is still not clear. We carried out a population-based case-control study in a Northern Italy community to assess the possible relation between passive exposure to agricultural pesticides and risk of acute childhood leukemia. We assessed passive pesticide exposure of 111 childhood leukemia cases and 444 matched controls by determining density and type of agricultural land use within a 100-m radius buffer around children’s homes. We focused on four common crop types, arable, orchard, vineyard and vegetable, characterized by the use of specific pesticides that are potentially involved in childhood induced leukemia. The use of these pesticides was validated within the present study. We computed the odds ratios (OR) of the disease and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) according to type and density of crops around the children’s homes, also taking into account traffic pollution and high-voltage power line magnetic field exposure. Childhood leukemia risk did not increase in relation with any of the crop types with the exception of arable crops, characterized by the use of 2.4-D, MCPA, glyphosate, dicamba, triazine and cypermethrin. The very few children (n=11) residing close to arable crops had an OR for childhood leukemia of 2.04 (95% CI 0.50–8.35), and such excess risk was further enhanced among children aged
ISSN:1438-4639
1618-131X
DOI:10.1016/j.ijheh.2016.09.015